by artweb
The 2024 Dakar Biennale of Contemporary African Art, known as Dak’Art, opened in Senegal with a powerful examination of the lasting impacts of slavery on African and global culture. This year's Biennale unites 58 artists from 13 countries under the theme “The Wake,” which, according to artistic director Salimata Diop, aims to bridge past and future by giving each equal significance in shaping contemporary African identity and expression. With the United States of America as the guest of honor, the opening exhibition includes works from seven African American artists, expanding the dialogue on shared histories of resilience and cultural evolution.
Among the event's highlights is Zimbabwe's Mbare Art Space (MAS), an artist led innovative venue from Harare’s historic Mbare suburb that embodies the Biennale’s secondary theme, “Faire lieu: L'art en espaces” (Making Space: Art in Places). Situated in a repurposed colonial-era beer garden, Mbare Art Space turns a former site of segregation into a vibrant center of artistic and communal revival, redefining a legacy of constraint as one of creative freedom and empowerment. Mbare Arts Space’s presence at Dak’Art conveys the powerful role of art in reclaiming and reshaping spaces for community-driven expression and support.
As part of Dak’Art, Mbare Art Space joins the month-long “Faire lieu: L'art en espaces” exhibition, hosted by Fonds Métis – Arts and Development, a program under the Agence Française de Développement aimed at integrating artistic insight into development initiatives. Running from November 7 to December 7 at Manifa in Dakar’s Grand Yoff district, the exhibition gathers five African artists, including Moffat Takadiwa, founder of Mbare Art Space. Through site-specific installations, they reveal how art transforms communities across the continent by fostering cultural enrichment, collaborative learning, and new perspectives on development.
Mbare Art Space presentation at this prestigious Biennale reflects on its layered history and ongoing community engagement, inviting visitors to witness both the physical and conceptual journey of this unique art hub. Instead of solely focusing on visual artworks, the exhibition explores the rich social context of Mbare, displaying archival images of the beer garden’s early days. These photographs reveal the complex past of these spaces, which served as gathering points for black communities under colonial rule. The beer garden, while a site for respite, also often perpetuated cycles of addiction and economic struggle. By reclaiming this location, Mbare Art Space provides a new purpose, replacing an era of restriction with one of openness, creativity, and inclusivity.
One of the exhibit’s central installations is a re-creation of Mbare Art Space’s portal entrance, symbolizing a passage through time and history. This gateway holds deep meaning, especially in the West African context, where Senegal’s Gorée Island served as a “door of no return” for countless enslaved Africans. The portal at Mbare Art Space draws a parallel, connecting township histories in Southern Africa with broader African narratives of displacement, transformation, and resilience. In Dakar, it becomes a symbol of reconnection - an open door inviting a return to community identity and collective empowerment.
Alongside the portal, the work of contemporary artst Julio Rizhi introduces audiences to the nuanced social issues facing the Mbare community. Rizhi’s art confronts the urban challenges of Mbare, from substance abuse to economic hardship, bringing attention to the ongoing struggles of township life. Through his work, Rizhi captures the ways colonial tactics have historically destabilized communities, keeping residents economically bound to environments like beer halls where their earnings often dwindled. His artistic practice echoes the resilience of Mbare’s youth, who continue to face and rise above modern-day challenges.
Visitors to Mbare Art Space’s exhibit at Dak’art embark on a symbolic journey through Mbare’s history and transformation. As they step through the re-created portal, they engage with narratives that illustrate Mbare’s evolution - from a place marked by colonial limitations to a thriving site of contemporary expression. For Mbare Art Space, the Biennale provides a crucial opportunity to expand its network and engage in collaboration, hoping to connect with African-centered institutions like Fonds Métis. In an art world where European funding dominates, such partnerships offer vital avenues for African art spaces to unite, fostering projects that honor shared histories and aspirations.
Mbare Art Space embodies a holistic vision that addresses both artistic and community needs. Initially, its team focused on providing practical resources like water access through a borehole, solar power, and free Wi-Fi - an approach that has encouraged a flourishing environment where art and everyday life intersect meaningfully. Collaborative initiatives such as “If These Walls Could Talk” invite community members to share personal histories and engage in creative activities like wire car-making, making art an accessible extension of their lived experiences. An accompanying catalog of the same name has since been produced to preserve these stories within the MAS archive, with supporting research conducted by longtime collaborator, Lifang Zhang. By anchoring itself in Mbare’s community, the space not only reshapes its local environment but also redefines the role of art in people’s lives.
Though Mbare Art Space showcase at 2024 Dak'Art does not feature the founder Moffat Takadiwa’s work at this Biennale, his international projects continue to amplify the space’s mission of transforming art into a tool for community empowerment. For Mbare Art Space, Dak’art is more than an exhibition, it is a platform for intercultural exchange, a gateway to new partnerships, and an affirmation of art’s potential to drive social revival across Africa. In an art landscape where exclusivity often prevails, Mbare Art Space at Dak’art exemplifies a new model of art - one deeply rooted in everyday life, where creative spaces evolve as vessels for community memory, resilience, and change.
The Dakar Biennale runs until December 7
More info at https://biennaledakar.org
Follow Mbare Art Spce on IG @mbare_art_space
Comments